BRENHAM, Texas – After narrowly escaping with wins the last three weeks of the regular season, the Blinn Buccaneer football team couldn’t find a way to keep that streak alive, as they were upset by unranked Tyler Junior College 37-34 in overtime at Cub Stadium in Brenham.

After a scoreless first quarter, the Bucs got on the board early in the second on a 2-yard touchdown keeper by redshirt freshman quarterback Eric Matthews (Brookshire Royal), giving the Bucs a 7-0 lead. Tyler would then score a touchdown and field goal on their final two possessions of the quarter to take a 10-7 halftime lead.

The Bucs would take a 14-10 lead to start the third quarter with a 16 play, 66-yard drive that was capped off by a 8-yard touchdown run by sophomore running back Marion Grice (Aldine Nimitz). The Apaches would then capitalize on a Buccaneer fumble on special teams, scoring on a 2-yard touchdown run to retake the lead 17-14. The Buccaneers would then come back with another score to take a 21-17 lead heading into the final quarter.

After the Bucs’ defense would hold the Apaches to a quick three-and-out, Matthews would hook up with freshman receiver Kyle Aubuchon (Hebron) on a 73-yard touchdown strike to stretch the lead to 28-17. The Apaches quickly marched down the field, scoring on a five-yard quarterback keeper to cut the lead to four. The Bucs would march right back down the field, but stalled inside the red zone and had to settle for a 24-yard field goal by freshman kicker Kurt Walker (Hebron) to give the Bucs a 31-24 lead with 6:09 left in the game. Tyler chewed up almost four minutes on their next possession, driving 80 yards for a touchdown, tying the score at 31-31 and sending the game into overtime.

In overtime, the Bucs won the coin toss and elected to take the ball first. On fourth-and-one, Walker kicked a 34-yard field goal to give the Bucs a 34-31 lead. After the Bucs stopped the Apaches and forced them to attempt a game-tying field goal, a costly penalty by the Bucs gave the Apaches a first-down, and they scored three plays later to wrap up the 37-34 upset victory.

With the loss, the Bucs finish at 9-1 on the season and will now sit back and see how the other top-teams fair next week. Once the championship games have concluded next week, the Bucs will have a clearer picture to what their bowl game options are.